BOARD DATE:	  21 May 2015

		DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20150003177 


THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:

1.  Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any).

2.  Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any).


THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, his records be changed to show he was not selected for separation by the Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14) Captain (CPT) Officer Separation Board (OSB).

2.  The applicant states he completed all necessary training and key developmental positions to be considered for the next rank and doesn't possess any derogatory information in his personnel file.  It is a travesty to him and his family that he is discharged without cause or merit and others with derogatory information within the iPERMS (integrated Personnel Electronic Records Management System) will continue to serve.

3.  The applicant provides:

* Officer Record Brief
* DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) with a separation date of 1 April 2015
* three Officer Evaluation Reports (OER) for the rank of first lieutenant (1LT)
* five OERs for the rank of captain (CPT)
* Military Personnel (MILPER) Message Number 13-356, issued 6 December 2013

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  He was commissioned a second lieutenant as a Reserve officer 11 May 2007 and ordered to active duty effective 12 June 2007.
2.  He was promoted to CPT effective 1 June 2010 with a date of rank (DOR) of 1 June 2010.

3.  He completed the Combined Logistics CPT Career Course on 17 December 2010.  He completed the Army Intermediate Program Management Course on 
16 August 2013. 

4.  He provided three OERs that he received as a 1LT.

	a.  OERs for the periods 3 February to 28 November 2008 and 29 November 2008 to 5 August 2009 show he was rated "Satisfactory Performance, Promote" by his raters and "Fully Qualified" by his senior raters.

	b.  An OER for the period 15 December 2009 to 1 July 2010 shows he was rated "Outstanding Performance, Must Promote" by his rater and "Best Qualified" by his senior rater.

	c.  Principle duties assigned included platoon leader and assistant plans officer.

5.  He provided five OERs that he received as a CPT covering the period from 13 July 2010 to 31 January 2014.

	a.  The OERs show he was rated "Outstanding Performance, Must Promote" by his raters and "Best Qualified" by his senior raters.  Four of his senior raters rater him as "Center of Mass" in Part VII b (Potential compared with officers senior rated in same grade).  One senior rater did not evaluate his potential in Part VII b.  However, in Part VII c (Comment on Performance/Potential) shows he rated the applicant in the top 10 percent of captains he rated and provided positive comments on the applicant's duty performance to include recommending his early selection to major.

	b.  Principle duties assigned included operations officer, detachment commander, plans officer, and assistant product manager, Patriot advanced capability (PAC)-3 Product Office.

6.  Military Personnel Message Number 13-356, issued 6 December 2013, announced the basic eligibility criteria, convening dates, and My Board File (MBF) dates for the FY14 OSB and (Enhanced) Selective Early Retirement Boards (E-SERB), CPT, Army Competitive Category (ACC).

	a.  In order to meet the Army's congressionally mandated end-strength by FY 2019, the Secretary of the Army (SA) authorized OSB and enhanced selective early retirement boards.  For year group 2007 with DOR from 1 March 2010 to 8 March 2011 the convening dates were 5 through 18 March 2014.  

	b.  After the SA approves the board reports, officers selected for separation were personally notified of their selection, followed by official correspondence.  No list was publicly released.

	c.  The SA approval of the board's report is the final action.  No "relook" or "standby" boards will be established, nor is there an appeal process.  Officers who believed that their selection for separation resulted from an error in their military records or that their selection constituted an injustice may seek relief from the ABCMR.

	d.  The OSB reviewed an officer's performance in the Army Military Human Resource Record (AMHRR) which included pre-screened limited portions of the restricted file, the Officer Record Brief, the official photograph, and authorized communications from each officer in the OSB considered population.

	e.  Officers in the zones of consideration could, if desired, submit correspondence to the president of the board.  Individual memoranda/letters should include only those matters deemed important in the consideration of an officer's records.  Letters must arrive prior to the convening date of the board in order to be considered.

	f.  Communications or letters/memoranda from other parties on behalf of officers in the considered population were not provided to the board unless forwarded as an enclosure to a letter/memorandum to the board from the officer being considered.

7.  He was discharged on 1 April 2015.  He completed 7 years, 9 months, and 20 days of active service that was characterized as honorable.  Item 28 (Narrative Reason for Separation) shows the entry "Early Separation."  On 2 April 2015, he accepted a commission in the grade of CPT in the U.S. Army Reserve.

8.  In the processing of this case an advisory opinion, dated 24 March 2015, was received from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC).  HRC stated:

	a.  The officer corps must decrease to meet the Congressionally mandated reduction in active duty end strength.  To achieve these reductions, some of the Army's experienced and professional officers will be required to separate.  These force shaping boards were convened under the Secretary of the Army's U.S. Code (USC) Title 10 authorities and required Secretary of Defense approval.

	b.  The OSBs consisted of several general officers and senior colonels to assess the record of each officer in the considered population and to determine the officers with the greatest potential for continued service and those for separation.  The information considered by the board included OERs, commendation information, and disciplinary information.

	c.  The applicant's selection for separation was based on the board's overall assessment of his performance and potential for future service compared with his peers.  The Secretary of the Army approved the list, and the board result is final.

9.  On 30 March 2015, the applicant provided the following comments in response to HRC's opinion:

	a.  He has zero derogatory or disciplinary information within his official military personnel file (OMPF).  It is an injustice to select an individual who showed dedication and commitment to maintain the standards set forth by HRC.  HRC has the ability to locate and release individuals within the active duty inventory with derogatory and disciplinary problems within their permanent records to meet the congressional mandated strength.  HRC should expand from just the targeted year groups or considered populations and include the entire active duty as a whole.  It is an injustice that his family will suffer due to being a part of the targeted population.

	b.  HRC stated they placed their recommendation based on OERs.  Poorly written reports that lacked enumeration and quality are not the fault of the rated officer.  His raters were colonels and above just like the colonels and above who were sitting on the force shaping boards.

	c.  He met every requirement to be boarded the same as his peers for the rank of major.  He satisfactorily completed his CPT's career course and his key development assignment as a company commander.  He emphatically states that the major promotion board should decide whether he has the potential for continued service not the OSB.  It is the function and the purpose of the promotion board to separate officers, if not selected for promotion.

	d.  He asks that the board reconsiders and allow him to continue to serve as he did before with honor and distinction.

10.  Title 10, U.S. Code, section 638a provides for the Secretary of Defense to authorize the Secretary of a military department to take any of the actions set forth to include shortening the period of continuation on active duty, early retirement by a selection board for senior officers, and convene selection boards to consider officers for discharge from active duty lists.  For officers below the grade of lieutenant colonel or commander to be considered by an OSB, an officer must have served at least one year of active duty in the grade currently held; must not be on a list of officers recommended for promotion; and who are not eligible for retirement under any other provision of law.  An officer who is recommended for discharge by a selection board convened pursuant to this law and whose discharge is approved by the Secretary concerned shall be discharged on a date specified by the Secretary concerned.  Selection of officers for discharge under this subsection shall be based on the needs of the service.  The discharge or retirement of an officer pursuant to this section shall be considered to be involuntary for the purpose of any other provision of law. 

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  The applicant's dissatisfaction with the criteria set forth for the FY14 CPT OSB to include no consideration by a major promotion selection board is noted.  As authorized by U.S. Code, the Secretary of Defense approved the force shaping boards to achieve the congressionally mandated reduction in active duty end by FY 2019.   

2.  Military Personnel Message Number 13-356 announced the eligibility criteria for the FY14 CPT OSB.  This included the applicant's 2007 year group and his DOR.  The convening dates of the board were provided and additional information included the means by which he could have provided additional information to the president of the board.  There is no evidence he was treated differently than anyone else in his year group.  

3.  As indicated by HRC, in order to achieve the Congressionally mandated reduction in active duty end strength some of the Army's experienced and professional officers will be required to separate.  The applicant was properly considered by the FY14 CPT OSB and he has not shown he was denied information or that he was misled concerning the OSB.  The exact reasons an individual was selected/non-selected by the FY 14 CPT OSB are not divulged.  The FY14 CPT OSB results were approved by the Secretary of the Army.
Notwithstanding the applicant's argument that it is the promotion board's responsibility to remove officers based on non-selection by a promotion board, the SA acted within his purview when he directed a targeted year group OSB to reduce the force. 

4.  The applicant has failed to submit sufficient substantive evidence to demonstrate the existence of an injustice.  Therefore, there is no basis upon which to grant relief in his case.


BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF 

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

____X____  __X______  __X__  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The evidence presented does not demonstrate the existence of a probable error or injustice.  Therefore, the Board determined that the overall merits of this case are insufficient as a basis for correction of the records of the individual concerned.

2.  The Board wants the applicant and all others concerned to know that this action in no way diminishes the sacrifices made by the applicant and his family in service to our Nation.  The applicant and all Americans should be justifiably proud of his service in arms.  


      _______ _ X  _______   ___
               CHAIRPERSON
      
I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case.

ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150003177



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ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont)                                         AR20150003177



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